Speed up your slow computer

Before you proceeds you should take back ups of your programs and files. Off course you should do that periodically, but most people forget to do that in their daily routine. So if nothing else, this is a good moment to get started.

Secondly you should make a Windows System Restore point. You go to ’Performance and maintenance’ in Control panel and choose ’System restore’. Here you can create a point of restoring as the computer looks like right now.

Expand the memory

Software tend to become larger and larger. This applies both to new programs you install and updates for the programs your computer was born with. You can expect that already a year after you purchased your computer, its physics is no longer optimal in relation to the demands you postpone it for.

Check under Control Panel / System, to see how much RAM memory you have installed. When size does not match what you see as the default configuration of new PCs, so you can probably get a long way by upgrading. You can probably get your local computer store to install it for you. If you choose to do it yourself, you must be aware of what type of RAM, your computer is using and whether there is a vacant slot for an additional RAM card or if you will have to fully replace your existing one.

You should be aware of the risk there is to intervene in the computer's physical parts and detailed instructions in that respect are beyond the scope of this guide.

Eliminate malicious software – so called Malware

Malware can be adware or spyware. Both can be removed relatively easily with standard software. Malware was formerly a big problem, but the widespread use of anti-spyware programs have reduced the problem significantly.

It's a good idea regularly to carry out a full scan of your computer with at least two different anti-malware programs. Then it is sufficient to use one program to continuously monitor the computer. Before you run a full system scan, you should create a system restore point in Windows. Then disable automatic system recovery during a scan. (Remember to reactivate).

Your security programs can cause problems

Your security programs automatic monitoring of the systems can in itself slow your computer down. Try to disable each feature of the software one by one and note whether it has an impact on computer performance. If so, there are only two things to do, either you have to change the software or you have to live with the problem.

It is under no circumstances recommendable that you use the computer without security systems. It is recommended to use software from major companies such as Norton and MacAfee. AVG can be an excellent and free alternative, but here you must be prepared to accept a significant effect on the speed of your computer.

Remove unnecessary programs

It pays to examine your computer for unnecessary programs. Most people installs occasionally programs, which are then only seldom used. Many programs that you use may automatically install extra help programs. Your printer software is often installed along with special scanning software or image processing programs that are redundant because you have installed your own favorite software.

Go to Start / Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs. Review the list and remove everything that you do not use regularly. In this manner you will free resources that will improve the performance of your computer.

Clean your browser

Delete files that are stored in the browser cache and reduce the space reserved to store Internet files.

Go to Internet Explorer / Tools / Internet Options and delete files and reduce the cache.

Delete temporary files

Go to 'My Computer', right-click the C drive and select Properties. Select the 'Disk Cleanup'. Check boxes and accept.

Scan the hard disk

Go to 'My Computer', right-click the C drive and select Properties. Under Tools tab select 'Check Now'. Check the box for 'Correct automatically' and 'Search ...'. You must expect that this scan takes some time, so you can consider making it during the night.

Defragment the hard disk

As time goes by the files will spread in fragments on your hard disk. When files are deleted this creates gaps where new files are placed and if the new file is larger than the gap the file breaks and fragments of the file is placed elsewhere. The computer can easily learn to jump back and forth, but when fragmentation reaches a certain level, it begins to affect the computer speed.

Go to 'My Computer', right-click the C drive and select Properties. Under Tools tab select 'Defragment'. If your computer is very fragmented, remediation can take a very long time.

Periodically maintenance

If you wish to enjoy working on your computer, you should periodically review the points above. There is no reason to let your computer significantly slow down before you do anything. And in the extreme, you may experience systemic failure that can not be restored and with a loss of data to follow. Schedule a regular review of your computer. It is recommended that you at least cleans your computer every three months.

Consider a new PC

Even if you are careful to maintain your computer, it will after a period of years inevitably perform worse than when you bought it. New programs you install will be optimized for standards for newer computers and a complete replacement of all the vital parts of your computer is - if at all possible - rarely economically viable in comparison to completely replace the old computer.

So if you, in spite of the regular implementation of the steps that are mentioned in this article, still find that your computer is unreasonably slow, then there is probably no way around. Then it's just a new computer that can solve the problem.